


a star to guide you

by ShionsTear



Series: The A3! AU that started with a random prompt generator. [2]
Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Apprentice!Azami, Bullying, Fashion Designer!Yuki, Flashbacks, Hair Stylist!Azuma, Humor, M/M, Model!Taichi, Piercer!Kazunari, Romance, Slice of Life, Strangers to Lovers, Tattooist!Omi, Tattooist!Tasuku
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21823372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShionsTear/pseuds/ShionsTear
Summary: 7OTA1: will it hurt?Omi: Well...Azu-nee: It depends on how sensible you are :)Three3: some peeps say they didnt even feel anythingAzu-nee: You might dieThree3: of fun~!! ☆7OTA1: ( ﾉД`)ｼｸｼｸ…Omi: Taichi?
Relationships: Fushimi Omi/Nanao Taichi, Minagi Tsuzuru/Mizuno Kaya, Rurikawa Yuki/Sumeragi Tenma, Takatoo Tasuku/Yukishiro Azuma
Series: The A3! AU that started with a random prompt generator. [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1595281
Comments: 6
Kudos: 61





	a star to guide you

“Yuki-chan, I want a tattoo…”

“Huh!?!”

“Eeek!!” Taichi screeched in fear. Yuki was arranging his tie so he couldn’t jump back to escape his clutches. Though maybe that was for the better. Having known Yuki for half his life had taught him many things: one of those being to not try and run away when his friend got angry.

“Are you dumb!? Don’t answer, I know that you are. But this is a new level.” he tightened Taichi’s tie and stepped back a bit. “Alright, looking good.” he smiled, proud that his new design was looking good on his model.

“I’m sorry…”

“Where did that idea even come from?” Yuki crossed his arms and sighed.

“I’ve actually been thinking about it for a while. I always thought they looked cool but I was always scared to actually get one. But I think I’m ready now…” he fidgeted around with his hands.

“Hah…”

“But I wanted to ask you first. I’m well aware that I’m your model, so I don’t wanna do anything that would bother our work.”

“Let’s talk about this later, it’s your turn.”

“Th-thank you, Yuki-chan!” he smiled.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now get out there.” Yuki pushed him towards the exit and Taichi walked onto the runway.

🌠 🌠 🌠

The taxi was driving through the city streets and stopped at a red traffic light. It was almost 11pm when they had left the fashion show’s after-show party and now the clock was already showing the next day’s date. Taichi and Yuki were sitting in the back of the car, both exhausted from the day.

“Honestly, who thought it’d be a good idea to hold the show on a weekday?” Yuki complained.

“I think I heard someone say that it was because that’s when the majority was available…” Taichi said and yawned.

“Screw the majority.”

“Y-Yuki-chan…”

“Unlike them, I have to work tomorrow morning. I can’t live from my designer work just yet.” he continued. Even though he wanted to become a fashion designer and Taichi wanted to be his model, they were only just at the beginning of their careers. They were still considered small and didn’t get many offers to attend fashion shows.

Yuki worked as the editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine. He had always loved fashion and making clothes ever since he was in elementary school. Some say it was due to his two older sisters’ influence, but he would always deny that and say that he just slipped into it on his own.

On the other hand, Taichi had never planned to become a model, but Yuki always told him he’d have a talent for it and that he would make him a star. During their high school years that statement was music to Taichi’s ears as he dreamed of being popular, so he quickly agreed to it. But until then he was working at a toy shop.

“But it was a great opportunity.” Taichi added.

“I know.” Yuki grumbled. The car stopped in front of an apartment building. “Oh we’re at your apartment already.”

“You’re right!” he unfastened his seatbelt and opened the door. “Alright then, thank you for tonight, Yuki-chan!”

“You were good tonight, keep it up.”

“Thank you!”

“Oh and about the tattoo…”

“…yes?”

“I’ll look for a studio and let you know when we can go take a look. I’ll accompany you. You’re not getting any tattoo before I approve of it, got it?”

“Y-yes!!” he smiled, said goodbye and closed the door. He waved after the car as it drove away and then quickly entered the building. He walked up the stairs to his apartment, went inside and immediately walked into his bedroom. After letting himself fall down on the bed he yawned deeply.

His entire excitement from before flew away in an instant and he didn’t even want to stand up again to change into his sleeping clothes. But due to uncomfortableness, he took off his shoes, jacket and jeans, grabbed his phone from the pocket in the jacket and unlocked it. He wanted to look through his social media a bit before sleeping, but only five minutes later and he was already in the land of dreams.

Taichi woke up to his phone ringing in the morning. He was lying upside down with his head at the foot of the bed, in the same position he fall asleep in. He sat up on his bed and stretched.

“Oww, my neck.” he yawned, wondering why the pillow was underneath of his feet. After a moment, he finally realized that the phone was still ringing and answered the call. “Yes?” he yawned again.

“Don’t tell me you just woke up.” Yuki’s voice asked through the phone.

“Okay, I won’t tell you.”

“Hah…” he sighed. “Anyways, I found a tattoo studio. An acquaintance of mine recommended it to me.”

“Already!?” the mention of a tattoo studio was like a rush of caffeine to him and he immediately felt more awake. “Where? What is it called?!”

“Downtown. ‘I Ink, Therefore I Am.’”

“That’s an… interesting name.”

“In any case, do you have time tomorrow?”

“T-tomorrow already?” he was suddenly nervous.

“Yes or no?”

“Yes! I’m off tomorrow!”

“Good. Then I’ll pick you up at 10am tomorrow, be ready.”

“Thank you, Yuki-chan!”

“You’re welcome. Have a nice day, see you tomorrow.”

“Bye-bye.” he said and hung up. Taichi fell back on his bed and looked at the ceiling. “I can’t believe it’s happening…” he talked to himself. “Wait. What do I even want as a tattoo?” but before he could continue thinking about it, he suddenly jumped up and remembered that he had to get to work.

Though as he was used to running late in the morning, he got ready to head out in less than half an hour and quickly walked down the stairs to catch a bus. After a short ten minutes ride, he got off the bus again and walked the last bit to the toy shop he worked at. He arrived at ‘Pandora’s Toy Box’ and saw that the sign behind the door was already turned to show ‘open’.

The bell attached to the door rang as Taichi entered in confusion and looked around the store. If it was already opened it meant that the owner of the toy shop, his boss, had arrived there early. Usually it was Taichi’s job to open in the morning, but there had been occasions in which the owner had done it as well.

“Owner?” he called into the store but got silence in return. “Hmm.” he shrugged and walked into the back room to take off his jacket and put on his work apron. It had a dog shaped pin attached to the front that had his name written on it in hiragana, so children could easily read it. He stepped back into the shop and positioned himself behind the counter. There he found a note stuck on to the register.

_Dear Taichi-kun_

_I came in earlier to open the shop but something of utmost importance occurred. I had no choice than to leave immediately. I left you this note and ask you to look after the shop for the day. If there are no customers in the afternoon you may close up earlier, I do not mind. I wish you a nice day._

_Toodles, H._

“Oh, alright.” he said after reading and wadding the note. He threw it into the paper bin under the counter and sat down on a stool. After yawning another two times it finally dawned on him. “Wait! Did he just leave the store open with no one inside!?”

But before he could further question his boss’ decisions, the bell on the door rang and a young man in a blue suit entered.

“Welcome! How may I help you?” he smiled and asked the customer.

“O-oh, uhm… I…” he tried to avoid Taichi’s gaze and seemed somewhat nervous.

“If you just want to look around, feel free to. Ask me anything if you have any questions.”

“Th-thank you very much.” he bowed down and wandered around the store. Taichi stretched his arms and turned on the computer when he noticed it wasn’t on yet. While waiting for it to boot up, he stood up, grabbed a feather duster and decided to walk around the shop and dust the displays.

He didn’t want to bother the customer so he went to the other side of the store. Nonetheless, he was still quite curious and glanced at him from time to time. The man in the suit looked somewhat out of place in a toy shop, but Taichi only wondered what he could be looking for. He moved the duster around aimlessly while observing the other one and blew up some dust.

“Achoo!” he sneezed. “Man, this duster might look fancy and all, but it sure is useless at actually dusting stuff.” he said to himself, looking at the duster made of fake peacock feathers. Taichi always described his boss as an eccentric, fancy weirdo; mentioning the owner’s peculiarity twice seemed to be important to him.

“B-Bless you.” a voice from the other side of the shop said.

“Th-thank you very much!” Taichi replied, not expecting an answer from him. Only seconds later, the bell on the door rang again and a young girl entered, almost dragging her mother in by the hand. “Welcome, how may I help you?” he put down the duster and approached the new guests.

“My puppet arrived!” the girl exclaimed in excitement.

“Wow, that’s awesome!” he smiled as he crouched down to her. “Should I go check on it then?”

“Yes!” she laughed.

“I’m sorry. We got an email that the puppet we had ordered arrived at the store.” the mother explained.

“No problem.” he stood up again. “I can check in our system if you tell me your name. If you would accompany me to the counter…”

“Very well, thank you.” she nodded and the two followed him. After looking for it in the computer, Taichi found out which puppet it was and went to the back room to go fetch it. He came back after a while with a puppet and gave it to the excited girl. The mother paid for it, thanked him again and they left the store.

“Bye-bye, have fun!” Taichi smiled as he waved with his arm. Only moments later, the man in the suit approached the counter. He had been observing the scene and now seemed to know what he wanted. “Yes, can I help you?” he asked friendlily.

“Y-yes… On your website I saw that you had a teddy bear with… dandelion patterns on its tummy and paws. But I can’t seem to find it in the store and I wanted to get it as quickly as possible.” he explained.

“I see. Is it a present for someone?” he asked while searching for it in the computer.

“Yes. For…” he stopped for a moment but then continued with a smile. “For my son’s birthday.” he said. Seeing the happy expression made Taichi smile as well.

“That sounds like a great present. I did find the teddy you mentioned, it’s this one, right?” he turned the screen so the customer could see it.

“Exactly.”

“It seems we don’t have one here at the moment, but if you want I can order one for you?”

“How long would it take to arrive?”

“Two days!”

“T-two days!? That fast?” he was surprised.

“Yup!” he grinned.

“A-alright. Then please, if you could.”

“Very well.” he turned the screen back and started typing. “Could you please tell me your name then?”

“Ah, yes. Of course. My name is Mizuno.” he said. “Mizuno Kaya.”

🌠 🌠 🌠

Unfortunately, Taichi’s boss’ note didn’t correctly predict the day and there had been quite a lot of customers in the afternoon as well. He stayed in the store until its normal closing hours and closed up without having heard anything new from the owner the entire day. On his way home, he decided to stop by the curry restaurant in the vicinity and order something to take home.

When he arrived at his apartment, he sat down in front of the TV and ate dinner while watching a new show on Fletnix. It was about four angels having to spend a day on earth as humans. The production had gotten a lot of promotion so he was very curious to watch it.

As usual, whenever he was off the next day, he forgot about the time while watching a series on TV. He looked at the clock and noticed it was already past midnight.

“Just one more episode.” he told himself and continued.

He headed to bed at 1:30am after finishing the entire show.

The next morning he woke up at 9 o’clock, one hour before Yuki would appear in front of his apartment door. He jumped up from his bed and hurried to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready. Knowing his friend, he’d arrive well before ten already.

The doorbell rang at 9:45am, right after Taichi was done getting ready. He had decided to wear one of his favourite shirts and comfy baggy shorts, since he didn’t know how far they’d go at the tattoo store and he wanted to play it safe by wearing something neutral.

He ran to the door and opened it. In front of it Yuki was standing, arms crossed.

“Are you ready or what?” he asked, tilting his head forward to look at Taichi over his sunglasses.

“One minute!” Taichi exclaimed. “But that’s a pretty dress you’re wearing, one of your new designs?”

“Yes. A new summer dress, I wanted to try it on myself.” he smiled proudly. “Don’t just stand there and hurry.”

“But you said ten!”

“Come on!”

“Okay!!” he exclaimed again and hurried inside, leaving the door open for Yuki to enter. He sat down on one of the bar stools in the kitchen and waited. Taichi came back quickly, ready to head out. “Done!”

“Hmm…”

“What?”

“Put on a hat, it’s sunny outside.” Yuki explained. It was only then that Taichi noticed the straw hat on his friend’s head.

“Okay.” he hurried to his bedroom, grabbed his favourite baseball cap, put it on backwards and rushed back again. After receiving Yuki’s approving nod, the two headed out together and took the bus to downtown. They got off and after another 10 minutes’ walk they were standing in front of ‘I Ink, Therefore I Am’.

“Yuki-chan?” Taichi asked.

“Hm?”

“Why does the place look like a 50s diner?”

“Because apparently it was one at some point but got remodelled and now it’s a tattoo studio. Though it seems they also do piercings and even have an own hair stylist.” he explained.

“Whoa.”

“Which is also a reason why I’m here. I heard their hair stylist is quite talented so I wanted to check them out.” he took off his sunglasses. “And maybe I can rope him in to work for me too someday.” he grinned. Others might’ve thought that he was joking, but Taichi knew better and laughed nervously.

“Sh-should we go inside?”

“Let’s.” Yuki said and pushed the door open.

“Ayy!” a blonde haired man greeted them right after they entered. He was standing behind a counter and from the looks of it he had just taken a selfie. “Welcome dudes, what can I do for you?”

“I’m Rurikawa. We’ve got an appointment here today.”

“Oh yeah, I remember! Sweet.” he got around the counter and stopped in front of the two. Taichi suddenly felt a bit nervous and couldn’t help but observe him from head to toe. He didn’t look like how he’d envisioned a tattooist; for one, he had no tattoos. He was wearing a white shirt and blue ripped jeans. But he did have a lot of necklaces and both of his ears had several piercings.

“I sure hope you do, I only called two days ago.” Yuki added.

“Haha, you’re right.” he laughed. “The name’s Kazunari, welcome to my studio!”

“ _You_ own this place?”

“Sure do. Hey lemme take a selfie with you as a commemorative pic.”

“Uhm, okay?” he said. Kazunari took one with each of the two and looked at his phone.

“Mind if I upload it to our social media? We do that with all our customers.”

“Hah, fine then.” he sighed.

“Awesome! Alright, let’s get you signed in and we can head to the studio in the back, cool?”

“Yes!” Taichi nodded and they approached the counter.

“’Kay, names?” Kazunari asked, hands on the computer’s keyboard.

“Rurikawa Yuki.” Yuki said.

“I’m Nanao Taichi!”

“And which of you peeps wants the tattoo?”

“M-me.” Taichi answered.

“Tattoo for Taicchan and hair for the lady.” he typed.

“Just so you know, I’m a guy.” Yuki crossed his arms.

“Wha! A guy _and_ that cute!? Now I’m jealous, man. But nice outfit.” he said and continued typing.

“Hmph.” he closed his eyes but smiled. “Thank you.”

“Aight, Let’s go then.” he smiled and waved at the two to follow him. They walked around a corner and found themselves in something that looked like a hair salon. Someone was sitting on a dryer chair while a person with long, silver hair was standing behind them. “Azuu!”

“Yes?” the standing person turned around with a smile. Both Taichi and Yuki gasped at their beauty. “Oh, Kazu. Do we have guests?”

“Yup! Yukkii here wants his hair done.” he pointed at him.

“Fufu, very well.”

“His name’s Azuma, our hair stylist. Can I leave you with him?” he turned to Yuki.

“Sure.”

“Azuma-san, can I get out of this thing already?” the one under the dryer hood asked.

“Oh, right. Sorry Azami, I’ll take it away in a minute.” he chuckled and approached Yuki. “Hello, nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Yuki smiled.

“We’ll go meet your tattooist, ‘kay?” Kazunari turned to Taichi.

“Okay! See you later, Yuki-chan.” he said and followed Kazunari. They walked past all the chairs and went through a door in the back that led to another room with a counter and several displays with various piercings and photographs of tattoos that were presumably made in the shop.

“Takusu!” Kazunari waved at the man sitting behind that second counter. He was reading the newspaper and sighed.

“I told you to stop calling me that, Miyoshi. My name is Tasuku.” he put down the newspaper he was holding, frowned and stood up. He looked a lot more like one of Taichi’s imagined tattooists; he could confirm that after the frowning man had stepped in front of the counter. “What is it?”

He was wearing a tight-fit black t-shirt, dark jeans, black boots and black fingerless gloves. Both of his forearms had a tattoo consisting of a pattern with simple lines. Taichi wondered if that would be the person he’d talk to about his first tattoo and was a bit intimidated. And if that wasn’t enough already, Tasuku’s height added to it as well.

“Where’s Omimi?” Kazunari asked.

“Omimi?” Taichi was confused.

“Upstairs, said he had a quiche in the oven. But he’ll be right back.”

“…a quiche?” Taichi was even more confused.

“Nice, then you can just wait here for him, Taicchan!”

“Wait, what?”

“Be nice, Takusu!” Kazunari said and started walking away again.

“Uhm…”

“Hah, why is he always like that.” Tasuku sighed. Taichi was still confused. Why was the person who was supposed to talk to him about his tattoo baking a quiche upstairs? No matter how long he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with an answer. He looked around a bit and saw two armchairs and a coffee table in the corner of the room.

“Can I sit on there?” he shyly asked.

“Sure.” Tasuku said and smiled. Taichi was taken aback by the sudden change of expression. “And sorry, Miyoshi’s always like that. Do you want something to drink while you wait?”

“Oh, uhm… okay, thanks.”

“Coffee?” he asked. Taichi didn’t like coffee, only if it had enough milk and sugar to tone down the bitterness.

“Yes.” he nodded, not wanting to admit that he didn’t like pure coffee for some reason. He sat down on one of the armchairs and glanced at the magazines lying on the table. Tasuku came back after a while with a cup of coffee, a small pot of milk and a sugar basin. “Oh, thank you.” he appreciated the milk and sugar and helped himself.

“Will it be your first tattoo?” Tasuku leaned onto the counter.

“Oh, y-yes. I’ve always wanted one but I just never got to do it I guess, hehe.”

“It’s okay, we get a lot of customers like you.”

“Ohh, I see.” he took a sip from his coffee. He stuck out his tongue in disgust because the coffee was still too bitter. He added a bit more sugar and took another sip.

“Tasuku-san, do you want some quiche?” a voice asked from a distance and Tasuku turned around. A door opened and out came an even taller man, holding a tray with a quiche. Taichi didn’t know where to look at first.

Both of the quiche carrying man’s arms had colourful Japanese-themed tattoos on them. He had a scar on his face too, fortifying Taichi’s imagination of a tough tattoo guy. But that same ‘tough guy’ was also wearing an apron with a pattern of red carnations and matching oven gloves.

“Fushimi, you know you’re not supposed to bring food downstairs.” Tasuku sighed.

“I know, but the quiche turned out really well so I wanted to share it.” he laughed and discovered Taichi. “Oh, hello.”

“Good morning.”

“That’s… uhh…” Tasuku didn’t know his name.

“Nanao! Nanao Taichi!”

“Nanao’s your appointment. Miyoshi came by and basically just dropped him off.”

“I see.”

“So do your job. I’ll bring the quiche back up, we can eat it later.” he sighed and signalled Omi to put it down on the counter so he could take it. “Seriously…” he said as he grabbed the tray and disappeared through the door.

“Haha, sorry for that.” Omi smiled, took of his apron and approached Taichi. Without the apron he looked even more like a real tattooist, according to Taichi’s imagination. Only then he noticed that the tattoo went up to his shoulder. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt so it was very obvious, but the flowered apron had distracted him too much before. “My name is Fushimi Omi.” he stretched out his hand.

Taichi wasn’t used to that gesture when greeting others, but he nonetheless shook hands with him after a short moment of hesitation.

“You can call me Omi. And sorry for that, but Kazunari wants us to greet the customers like that. It’s more personal, he says.” he laughed.

“Oh, it’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting it.” Taichi laughed as well.

“Alright, I’ll go get my notebook. You can wait here, I’ll be right back and then we can talk about that tattoo of yours, okay?”

“Yes, thank you very much, Omi-kun!”

“You’re welcome.” he said and stepped away. Taichi observed him as he disappeared behind a corner and took another sip from his coffee.

“He looks so tough but the way he talks is really soft and calming…” he whispered to himself. “Hehe, and that apron was weirdly cute too.” he chuckled and didn’t notice Omi returning.

“I’m back.” he sat down on the other armchair and opened his notebook. He took a pen into his hand and looked at Taichi. “Shall we start then?”

“Y-yes…” Taichi stuttered, unsure whether the other had heard him talk about the apron. His cheeks flushed slightly red but he tried to frame it on the hot coffee by quickly taking a big gulp.

“So it’ll be your first tattoo, right?”

“Yup.”

“Alright. Do you already know what you want the motive to be?”

“N-not really, I didn’t think about that yet.” he explained. “I’m sorry…”

“Oh, no no, it’s fine. You have enough time to think of something, don’t worry. It’s not like we’ll do it right now.”

“Okay.”

“Any idea on where you want to have it?”

“About that…” he put the cup down on the table. “You see, I sometimes work as a model for Yuki-chan… Ah, he’s my friend, he designs clothes. He’s currently getting his hair done.”

“You’re a model?”

“Oh, well, y-yes? Kinda? It’s not like I’m famous or anything, I only appeared at small events so far, haha.”

“That’s still impressive.” he wrote down something on his notebook. “And you _are_ pretty handsome, so I can understand that.” he looked at Taichi with a smile and continued noting down information. Taichi quickly grabbed his coffee to drink some more. “So I take it you don’t want it to be all too visible, yes?”

“Exactly. I wouldn’t want it to get in the way of Yuki-chan’s work. He’s been working so long for this and I really want to help him out as best as I can.”

“You two seem like good friends.”

“Yup!” Taichi grinned. “I’ve known him since first grade!”

“That’s a long time.” Omi chuckled. “Reminds me of my friend and me.”

“Hmm?”

“Oh, the one who did my tattoos.” he pointed at his left arm. There was a big, vibrant koi on his upper arm. “He did this on his own. With traditional tools.”

“Traditional tools?”

“Yes, with wooden tools. I cried like a baby, it hurt a lot. But he wanted to try it on someone.”

“…” Taichi’s face paled.

“Don’t worry, we don’t do that here.” he started laughing. “And he’s not here with us anymore.”

“Oh, I---“

“He moved to Europe and opened a traditional Japanese tattoo shop there, can you believe it? That’s crazy.”

“Oh, he…” Taichi was relieved, he had expected something else. “I like your tattoo. It’s very pretty and I like the colours.”

“Thank you. But back to your tattoo…”

“Right.”

“I assume you just want it to be with black ink?”

“I think that would be the best, yes.”

“Alright.” he wrote into his notebook again. “Okay, then I’ll walk you through everything you need to know. About what the procedure from here on is, what you have to keep in mind for getting a tattoo… It’s a standard routine, it won’t take all too long.”

“Okay.” he nodded.

“And well, after that, we can go back to the salon and talk with your friend about where he wouldn’t mind a tattoo and you can decide with him. Everything else can be decided on later too. Sounds good?”

“Yes, perfect! Thank you very much!”

“No problem.” he smiled and started explaining everything. Taichi was feeling less nervous with every passing minute. He thought it was probably because of Omi’s calm and reassuring personality. He didn’t know him for that long yet, but that was the impression he got from him and he enjoyed talking to him a lot. He could’ve gone on for hours.

🌠 🌠 🌠

“So we’ll go with that?” Omi asked, looking around.

“Sounds good to me!” Kazunari laughed.

“Yes, I can work with that. And it seems that way it’ll be something small anyways. I was worried you’d want to get your entire back covered in ink or something.” Yuki said as he examined his hair in the mirror; Azuma had just finished styling it.

“Y-Yuki-chan…” Taichi sighed.

“Alright, then let’s go with that.” Omi nodded. Yuki stood up from the chair and turned around to Azuma.

“Thank you, Azu-nee. I will definitely come by again.”

“My, thank you. I appreciate it.” he chuckled.

“Well then, let’s pay and get going, Taichi. I have something else to discuss with you.”

“Alright!”

“Azamin, you heard ‘em.” Kazunari winked at the black haired boy. Azami was currently doing an apprenticeship as Azuma’s trainee and therefore took care of smaller jobs, like being the cashier, too.

“Will do, Kazunari-san.” he nodded and accompanied the two to the register. After paying for the hair styling, Kazunari quickly rushed after them and asked Taichi to exchange numbers so he could create a new group chat to talk about the tattoo plans. He explained how he always did that with the customers.

“It’s fun and easy, right?!” he asked.

“I guess you’re right…” Taichi agreed, more or less, and they exchanged their contact info. He and Yuki said goodbye to the others and exited the tattoo shop. Only seconds later, Taichi’s phone rang with a notification sound. He opened his messenger app and found a new group chat.

[Three3 created the group “Taicchan’s Tattoo!”]

[Three3 added Omi, 7OTA1, Azu-nee, Tasuku]

Three3: Woooh~!

[Tasuku left the group]

Azu-nee: Bye Tasuku

[Three3 added Tasuku]

Azu-nee: Hi Tasuku

Tasuku: why

Three3: You know exactly why, Takusuuuu ☆

Tasuku: hah

Azu-nee: Don’t mind

7OTA1: Looking forward to working with you! (≧▽≦)

Omi: Me too.

Taichi laughed and put his phone away again. Yuki hadn’t stopped walking and was already some steps away from him, so he hurried after him and apologized for the wait. The two headed to a small café to have a light lunch and talk about business, as Yuki had explained it.

“We got a new offer.” he said before biting into his sandwich.

“Really!?” Taichi’s eyes sparkled. “From whom?”

“Kamikizaka Reni.”

“Wait, Kamikizaka? Isn’t that the old bastard who---“

“Yes. He was in the audience the other day, apparently. So now he reached out to me, asking if I wanted to participate in his next fashion show.”

“I see. So you declined, right? There’s no way you’d work for him and---“

“Nope, I’ll gladly accept the offer.”

“Eh!?”

“Taichi, that’s exactly what he wants. He knows that I can’t stand him yet offered me that opportunity, expecting me to decline so he can tell others how I wouldn’t accept his oh so gracious offer. But I’m not gonna let him have it.”

“So you…”

“Yes, I’m gonna swallow my pride and accept. This is a great opportunity for both of us. I’ll design the best outfit of the night and you present it to the world. What a better way than this to show him what I’m made of.” he started laughing.

“Yuki-chan, sometimes you scare me a bit…” he drank from his milkshake.

“Thank you.” Yuki smiled in response.

The two finished eating and Yuki asked Taichi to tag along for a while. He wanted to go buy new fabric and needed someone to carry the bags. Since Taichi didn’t have anything else planned for the day either way, he agreed to accompany him. He’d use the opportunity to talk to him about the tattoo as well and ask him for suggestions on the motive.

After almost two hours of fabric shopping and the amount of bags Taichi had to carry increasing gradually to the amount of stores they stopped at, Yuki called a taxi to get home and start on the idea for his ‘best design yet’, as he already called it. Taichi helped load the bags into the car but decided to keep on walking around town for a while and the two parted ways.

He wanted to go look at new skater shoes since the ones he owned were quite old already. It had been a while since he last went skateboarding, but the urge to go was growing recently. He stopped by at his favourite shoe store and entered. After looking around for a while and not finding anything that he wanted, he headed out again and thought about what to do next. While he was thinking, a couple walked by, eating ice cream.

Since he was both quickly distracted and easily influenced, he started walking towards where the couple came from, on a quest for ice cream. He found a stall selling it at a nearby park and bought a big cone of strawberry and mango ice cream. He sat down on a bench and started eating. As he looked around the park, he saw a girl in the distance waving her arms at him.

After a short moment of confusion, he realized it was the girl that visited the toy shop the day before and waved back. The girl’s mother was with her as well and bowed down a bit and smiled. It looked like she was playing with her new puppet and a friend of hers. Taichi couldn’t help but think of his little sister and brother when they used to play like that in the park as well.

Thinking about them made him want to talk to them, as he hadn’t seen them for quite some time already. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and was about to call home when he received a message.

Three3: Yoo~ Taicchan, did ya think of a motive yet~?

7OTA1: nope, not yet!

Omi: Take your time, it’s something you’ll be stuck with.

Azu-nee: Yes, you have to make sure you don’t regret it

7OTA1: i have a question

7OTA1: will it…

7OTA1: will it hurt?

Omi: Well...

Azu-nee: It depends on how sensible you are :)

Three3: some peeps say they didnt even feel anythin

Azu-nee: You might die

Three3: of fun~!! ☆

7OTA1: ( ﾉД`)ｼｸｼｸ…

Omi: Taichi?

Three3: Azuu, don’t scare him lol

Azu-nee: Fufu

Azu-nee: Oh, I’m sorry, I have to leave

Omi: Where are you going, Azuma-san?

7OTA1: aren’t you all at the studio?

Three3: Nope~ ☆

Three3: Closed early cuz i had plans

Three3: So yeah everyones home already

Three3: Not like that changes much for Omimi since he lives upstairs (*´з`)

Taichi: ohhh

Azu-nee: We’re meeting with Tasuku’s brother and his wife for dinner :)

Omi: I see, have a nice evening then.

Three3: Take some pics to upload later!!

Azu-nee: Very well

Tasuku: Azuma

Azu-nee: Yes yes

Azu-nee: Alright, bye-bye

7OTA1: why’s Azuma-san meeting with them too?

Three3: Takusu and Azuu are _a thing_ ♡

7OTA1: ohhhh, ok

7OTA1: anyways, i have to get going too

7OTA1: i’ll let you know when i think of sth!

Three3: Aight~

Omi: Alright.

7OTA1: bye!

Taichi sent and closed the app. He didn’t expect to be casually chatting with them like that, but since he was enjoying himself he didn’t really mind. He quickly finished his ice cream, stood up and decided to call home while taking a walk.

🌠 🌠 🌠

After he ate dinner and put the dishes away, Taichi stepped out onto his balcony and looked skywards. It was a clear night and he could see the stars shining in the sky. He stepped closer to his telescope and started observing the night sky. It was one of his most treasured possessions. Looking at the stars would always relax him, he could stand there and do it for hours.

While looking at the stars it suddenly hit him. He knew what his tattoo would be. He quickly stepped inside and wanted to text the others, but when he saw how late it already was, he decided to wait until tomorrow. Once again, he hadn’t noticed how time had passed, but since he had work the next day and he didn’t want to stay up late again, he got ready for bed and went to sleep.

The next morning came and he wrote about his idea on the bus ride to the toy shop.

7OTA1: GOOD MORNING

7OTA1: i came up with a tattoo idea!

7OTA1: (≧◇≦)

Three3: Sweet~! What is it?

7OTA1: a star!

7OTA1: or rather, a shooting star!!

Three3: ☆彡

7OTA1: i like observing stars, they always calm me down

7OTA1: and i thought if it’s sth as small and simple as that then it wouldnt stand out too much on my inner wrist

Omi: That sounds great, I like the idea. I think it fits you.

7OTA1: thanks (/ω＼)

Three3: Niiiiice~

Azu-nee: There’s also an old belief that says the inner wrist is a place where your spiritual energy leaks out of your body

Azu-nee: So tattooing something important to you on there was seen as a protective charm, so I think your idea is very pretty too

Three3: Sick, where did ya read that?

Azu-nee: Fufu, that’s a secret :)

Omi: Taichi, when do you have time for a second appointment to talk about it in more detail?

Omi: Also it’d be great, if you have an image for it already, so bring along reference pictures then too!

7OTA1: im quite busy this week, so maybe next?

Omi: Sure, I’ll contact you again then, okay?

Three3: Progress progress~

Tasuku: can I leave the group now?

Three3: NAH BRO

Tasuku: hah

7OTA1: btw, why isn’t that black haired one in this group?

Three3: Azamin?

Azu-nee: He’s my trainee, so he’s not a full employee yet

7OTA1: ohh, i see!

7OTA1: oh, my bus stop

7OTA1: gotta work now, ttyl

He sent his message and got off the bus. Unlike the other day, the store wasn’t opened yet so he proceeded to open it and get ready for a day of work. The owner came in later, as usual, and immediately vanished in his office, leaving Taichi alone again. At first, there were no customers, but then the bell rang as the door opened and three people stepped inside.

Taichi immediately recognized one of them. It was the blue suited customer from the other day. He was accompanied by another young man of roughly the same age and a young child, who he was holding hands with. Taichi smiled and waved his arm.

“Good morning, Mizuno-san!”

“O-oh, hello.” he bowed down slightly and let the other man take the child’s hand. He approached the counter and put his hands on it. “Did it arrive?”

“It should, I’ll go check.” he said and disappeared in a back room. At the same time, the boy was pulling the other man around, wanting to look at everything that caught his attention.

“Leon, why are you so excited?” the man asked.

“Can I look around on my own?” the boy looked up to him, excitement on his face.

“Alrighty, fine. But don’t break anything.” he pat him on the head.

“Yay!” Leon exclaimed happily and started walking around. The man joined Mizuno and Taichi came back with a teddy bear in his hands.

“Tada!” he said as he put the plushie down on the counter.

“Oh my, it looks wonderful!” Mizuno seemed happy.

“Hehe, I’m glad you like it.” Taichi grinned.

“Papa!” Leon called.

“Yes?” both men turned around at the same time. “Ah…”

“No, I mean you!” he pointed at the man next to Mizuno and pouted. “This is confusing, I need to rethink this.”

“Sorry, Tsuzuru.”

“Haha, it’s okay, Kaya.” he laughed. “I’m coming, Leon.”

“Is that your son?” Taichi asked with a smile.

“Y-yes.”

“Then I hope he’ll enjoy the teddy!”

“Thank you very much.”

“No problem!” he smiled again and the two finished the transaction. The small family thanked him again, said goodbye and left the store. Taichi observed how Leon was happily holding the plushie and felt happy as well. That was the main reason why he had started working at a toy shop. The smiling children reminded him of his siblings and he always tried his best to make children as happy as possible.

The rest of the day passed by quickly with no major incidents – a scale figure of a Ferris wheel almost tipped over when he was trying to dust it, but he managed to successfully secure it – and before he knew it, he was already on his way back home.

He had received some messages from Yuki, asking him questions about his new design idea, and replied to him while waiting for the bus. He also used the chance to tell his friend about the tattoo idea. Yuki seemed to like it as well and gave his okay for any further actions.

When he got home, Taichi received a message from Omi, telling him about their appointment next week. It was only to talk about the tattoo in detail and decide on a date for the actual session, but just thinking about it filled him with equal amounts of nervousness and excitement. He couldn’t wait to finally get his tattoo done.

🌠 🌠 🌠

The week passed by quickly and the day for Taichi’s second appointment had arrived. He had work in the morning, but after explaining it to the owner, he got the afternoon off and was now standing in front of I Ink, Therefore I Am. He took a deep breath and walked in.

At the same time, Yuki was at home, working on a mock-up for his newest design. The TV was turned on, to provide some background noise, when the channel was suddenly changed.

“Hey, who said you were allowed to change the channel?”

“But you’re not watching TV anyways!”

“You know I turn it on for white noise, stupid Tenma!”

“Huh!? Does it matter _which_ channel is on then?!”

“Yes it does!”

“You’re not making any sense!” the two started arguing, as always. Yuki had known his boyfriend for several years already and arguing was to them as breathing was to most other humans. Having moved in together recently didn’t decrease the times they started discussing, but it definitely increased their moments of genuine affection; though they both enjoyed arguing with each other anyways.

“I just wanna watch the news, I’ll change back afterwards, geez…” Tenma grumbled.

“Fine!” Yuki sighed.

“Why is he always like that?” he talked to the white cat on his lap. “Do you know that, Prince Percival?”

“…” but the cat didn’t answer and only purred.

“As mentioned earlier, the typhoon is drawing nearer and will hit the city in about an hour. We recommend staying inside as best as possible and avoid going out until the storm passes. In other news…” the newscaster on the screen explained.

“Good thing I’m off today.” Tenma said relieved. “They rescheduled the shoot last minute.”

“Wait, what!?” Yuki exclaimed.

“Yeah, I told you I’m off.”

“Not that, dumbass.”

“Huh!?”

“A typhoon is coming? Today!?”

“Apparently?”

“…Taichi.” Yuki put down the fabric scissors he was holding and quickly grabbed his phone. “…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Taichi isn’t picking up his phone.”

“…and?”

“I need to check if he knows about the typhoon!”

“Huh, why do you---“

“Tenma!” he turned to him, a worried expression on his face. “Drive me to his apartment.”

“…” he had rarely seen Yuki look that worried.

“Please.”

“Alright, let’s go.” he turned off the TV. “Sorry Prince Percival.” he picked up the cat and laid it onto the couch.

The two got ready and headed out. Yuki explained the situation while in the car. When they arrived, Yuki hurried up the stairs and rang on Taichi’s door a few times, but no one opened.

“Taichi…” he grabbed his phone and tried calling again, but still no answer.

“Are you sure he’s home?” Tenma asked.

“I don’t know, he said he’d have an appointment with the tattoo artist today, but I don’t know for how long.”

“Then I’m sure he’ll be fine, if he’s there he can stay until the storm is over.”

“But what if…”

“Yuki…”

“What if he’s---“

“Yuki!” Tenma yelled and put his hands around the other. “Yuki, calm down.”

“…” he took a deep breath.

“I’m sure everything will be fine, okay? And we should head back home, the wind is getting stronger already.”

“…”

“Come on.”

“…okay. Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” he smiled and took Yuki’s hand to calm him down. Yuki was still thinking about Taichi and just hoped that he wasn’t on his own somewhere.

Luckily, Taichi was still talking with Omi at the tattoo studio. They had just finished talking about the tattoo and had decided on a date when a loud noise distracted them.

“What was that?” Taichi asked.

“Hmm, I don’t know. Let me check.” Omi stood up and walked to the front of the shop. “It’s windy.” he looked outside. “It looks like a typhoon is coming. I hope the others made it home safely. Taichi, if you want you can stay here until---“ he turned around and saw Taichi crouched down, covering his ears with his hands. “Taichi!?” Omi rushed towards him.

His body was trembling yet he tried his best not to move, it was as if he was frozen. The wind outside got stronger and made Taichi whimper in fear. Omi seemed to understand, picked him up and carried him upstairs to his apartment. He put him down on his couch and closed the blinds of all of the windows. After that, he grabbed a blanket and put it around the still trembling Taichi.

“I’ll make you a hot chocolate since you said you don’t like coffee that much, okay?” Omi said but didn’t receive an answer. After he poured him a cup, he went back to the living room and put it down on the table. “Taichi, are you okay?”

“…Omi-kun?” he asked silently, wrapped up in the blanket, letting go of his ears as the wind seemed to calm down a bit. “I-I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be sorry. Is everything alright? I made you a hot chocolate, if you want to drink something warm.”

“…thank you…” he said and slowly grabbed the cup. He took a deep breath and drank a bit, but because he was worried of dropping it, he quickly put it back on the table. “It’s yummy.”

“I’m glad.” Omi smiled. “Are you… scared of storms?”

“…”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“…y-yes. Ever since---“ he flinched whenever a loud noise could be heard from the raging wind.

“You don’t have to force yourself---“

“N-no! If I talk it distracts me from the storm… But it’s not a very nice story… I-I don’t know if you wanna hear it.”

“It’s okay, if it helps you, I’ll listen.” he said gently.

“Omi-kun…” Taichi turned to him. And again, despite his quite rough outer appearance, his kind voice felt incredibly calming to Taichi. He took another deep breath and started his story.

“It happened back in first grade. My parents and I had just moved and it was in the middle of the school year. So when I transferred I was put into a class where I knew no one, obviously. I had promised myself to try my best to find new friends, but it was difficult to fit in if the students had already formed different groups.

And to top it off, I was quite short at that time, shorter than the others. I was also the youngest and just generally didn’t stand out among the others. But I still tried my best and there were some boys that seemed to be interested in talking to me. They’d ask me questions like where I lived before and stuff. I thought I’d finally made some friends.

B-but then, one day… We were in class and the teacher called me to solve a problem. As I learned later, it was something they had learned in class before I transferred, so the answer was pretty obvious for everyone except me. But because I hadn’t learned that yet and I had troubles studying back then too, I didn’t know how to answer.

I was standing in front of the entire class and the teacher kept on asking me, telling me to think about it more. But as much as I tried, I just didn’t know the answer. Some students started whispering to each other, probably talking about me. But the teacher continued, saying that the answer was easy. But… at some point, I couldn’t take it anymore and tears started forming in my eyes.

Some kids started laughing. And as if he had forgotten until then, the teacher suddenly told me that I could go back to my desk and asked someone else. It was one of the boys that had started talking to me before and he knew the answer immediately.

After class was over, I wanted to have lunch with those boys, but then they told me they didn’t wanna hang out with someone stupid and laughed as they walked away and left me behind. That was when… everything started.” Taichi sniffed, his eyes had become teary. “At first, they just avoided me.

Whenever I would try to talk to them, they’d just ignore me. I understood that they didn’t want to talk to me anymore, so I eventually stopped trying. But for some reason, they didn’t like that either. They started hiding my schoolbooks, telling me that someone as stupid as me didn’t need them anyways.

The bullying only got worse from there, b-but I don’t wanna bother you with that… I tried to tell the teacher about it once after they had torn apart a book I had brought along from home, but he only told me to deal with it myself. That it was just a problem among us kids and that we should solve it ourselves.” his hands started trembling.

Omi was sitting next to him on the couch, listening closely. He noticed that Taichi’s hands were shaking so he moved his own on top of the other’s and held them firmly. Taichi noticed the warmth and continued talking.

“It was a day after summer vacations were over. We were in class, as usual, when the principal’s voice came through the loudspeakers. He told us that a typhoon was nearing and would hit the school. Everyone was to head to the gym and wait there for the storm to pass. We all stood up and headed out of the classroom. Just as I was about to follow the others, the boys who had once talked to me called out to me.

As if I had forgotten everything they had done to me before, I smiled happily and followed them. They said that they wanted to show me something cool and we went to the storage where the school kept all the tools and things for PE. They opened the door and told me that it was inside, so I walked in and suddenly heard the door being shut behind me.

I turned around and saw that they had stayed outside. When I approached the door and tried opening it, I heard laughter from the other side. They said how stupid I was for blindly trusting them and that it was my punishment to stay in there until the storm passed. I started crying, asking them to let me out, but they ignored me and walked away, probably heading to the gym.

I banged on the door and yelled, asking for help. But everyone had probably already gone to the gym and awaited the storm. I gave up after a while and sat down on the floor, tears falling down from my cheeks.” he said as he started crying. There was a smile on his face, as if trying to hide the pain, but nonetheless he continued. “The floor was cold.

It was made out of concrete and there was nothing there to heat it. And then out of nowhere, I heard the wind howling. The storage had a small window near the ceiling. I had no chance of reaching it and even if I did, there were iron bars in front of it so I couldn’t escape through it even if I wanted to.

But the window was open and the wind found its way inside. It howled, screeched, made things inside the storage move. The sky got darker and overcast with storm clouds. It started raining and storming. I crawled into an open corner, closed my eyes and covered my ears. I was scared. I wanted it to end. I wanted to go home into my bed and hide.

But I was surrounded by cold concrete walls, alone in a dark room. And I jus---eek!” it had started to rain outside and thunder echoed through the sky. Taichi startled and his entire body started trembling again. It was as if the outside world was trying to vividly remind him of those moments in the storage, accompanying his story with adequate sound effects. He was about to burst out crying when two arms wrapped around him.

Omi was hugging him. The blanket had fallen off, but Taichi wasn’t feeling cold. He could feel Omi’s warmth.

“It’s okay, Taichi. I’m here.” he whispered.

“…”

“I’m here.” he repeated. Without saying anything, Taichi wrapped his arms around Omi as well and rested his head on the other’s chest. He could hear Omi’s heartbeat. It was calming, soothing even. It was as if the beating grew louder to drown out the noise of the storm.

The two remained like that for a while, neither of them saying anything, just listening to each other’s heartbeat.

“…I don’t remember much of what happened after that.” Taichi had continued talking, still embraced by Omi. “All I know is that once the storm had passed, I heard steps coming closer and then the door opened. I didn’t care who it was, but I reflexively rushed towards them, clung myself to them and started crying again.

That person was Yuki-chan. As I learned later, the boys talked about how they had trapped me in the storage and Yuki overheard them. He told a teacher and as soon as they were allowed to leave the gym again, he ran to the storage to let me out.

After that they had to call my mom to come pick me up because I just wouldn’t stop crying. I didn’t want to go to school the next few days, not wanting to meet the other boys. But then Yuki-chan came to my house. I had seen him around school before, he was quite famous for looking cute but having a very sharp tongue.

He gave me an apology from the boys, they were probably told to write one by the teacher. When I asked Yuki-chan why he had come to help me, he just told me that he didn’t like it when dumb boys laughed about others. For some reason, he had gotten angry at them on my behalf. And that made me smile, something I hadn’t done in a while.

We started talking to each other more frequently after that and eventually became friends. He’d always threaten to beat up the boys if they did anything to me. Though I knew he wasn’t serious, his way of talking and his mean stares were enough to scare them off.

One day, after I had told Yuki-chan about how they once ripped apart my book, he invited me to go starwatching with him and his dad. The book they had ripped apart was about space. It was then that I got to love the starry night sky.

We were up on a hill. It was night, a bit cold, but we had hot chocolate. There was no wind, no clouds, almost no sounds. It was as if time had stopped and all we could see were stars. That serenity still fascinates me to this day.” Taichi’s tone had changed with the past few minutes. His voice wasn’t trembling anymore and he retold his past with gentleness. Omi had noticed the change as well, but he enjoyed listening to him so he didn’t want to interrupt him.

“And… that’s why I want a shooting star as my first tattoo… That way… I can always wish upon it…” his voice grew quieter. “And if I point somewhere… it’ll be sure to… guide me…” he said and stopped talking. His breathing had calmed down and he let go of Omi; he had fallen asleep.

🌠 🌠 🌠

When Taichi opened his eyes he was lying on a bed. He was covered by a blanket and was hugging a pillow. But for some reason, the pillow smelled weird. It wasn’t the smell he had gotten used to after using the same detergent for months because he liked its odour. He sat up on the bed and finally realized that he hadn’t been sleeping in his own bed.

He slowly put the blanket aside and stood up. He didn’t recognize the room, but he was the only one inside. As his confusion grew, he suddenly heard voices coming from the other side of the door. He stepped closer and was relieved when he knew who the voices belonged to.

“Yuki-chan!?” he exclaimed as he opened the door. He discovered Yuki and Tenma sitting on the couch and Omi carrying a tray with two pieces of quiche. At that moment he also realized that he was in Omi’s apartment, which therefore meant he had been sleeping in his bed. His face turned red as Yuki stood up from the couch and approached him. “Yuki-cha---oww!”

“Why don’t you answer your phone!?” Yuki flicked his forehead.

“M-my phone?” still somewhat drowsy, he checked his pockets for his phone but didn’t find anything. “My phone!”

“Hah…” he sighed.

“Yuki explained everything to me.” Omi put the tray down on the table. “About what happens when there’s a typhoon…”

“…o-oh…” Taichi looked down.

“You must’ve forgotten your phone at home. Talk about bad timing, huh?” Omi chuckled.

“Y-yeah…” he laughed nervously. “S-sorry, Yuki-cha---“

“I was worried, you know.” Yuki interrupted him with a hug.

“…I’m sorry.” he hugged him back. “But I’m okay now! Omi-kun…” he started and stopped. He finally remembered everything that had happened before he fell asleep. He wished the ground would open and swallow him up.

“Yes, I heard.” Yuki sighed again but seemed relieved as well. “Anyways, we can drive you home if you want.”

“What time is it?”

“Almost 10pm.”

“I was sleeping the whole time!?”

“You looked so calm when you fell asleep so I carried you to my bed. I hope it wasn’t too uncomfortable.” Omi said.

“N-no. Not at all.”

“I’m glad.” he smiled.

“Alright, then let’s go. Tenma---“ Yuki turned around and saw how Tenma was about to move a fork to his mouth but stopped midway.

“…can I finish the quiche first?” he asked.

“Hah, fine.” Yuki rolled his eyes. “Useless actor.” but Tenma ignored him and continued eating.

“Alright then, please enjoy the meal. I’ll be washing the dishes real quick.”

“L-lemme help you!” Taichi volunteered and followed him to the kitchen. Omi washed while Taichi dried. “Uhm…”

“Yes?” he asked, not turning away from the dishes.

“…thank you for today. For… being there.”

“You’re very welcome.” Omi smiled and Taichi smiled back. In an attempt to keep up a conversation Taichi blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“Do you know why I work in a toy shop?”

“I don’t.”

“It’s because I want to make children smile. You never know what they might be going through that they can’t or don’t wanna talk about. So if by me working there the chances of them smiling increases just a little, then I’m already happy too. Because I know how much smiling can help you when you feel down, I want to make as many kids as I can smile.” he explained.

“That is a very beautiful reason, Taichi. And I think it really fits you.”

“Thanks!” he grinned.

“I really like that part about you.”

“…th-thanks…” he tried to hide his blushing face.

“I see, so it’s like that.” Yuki whispered, having observed the entire scene.

“What is like what now?” Tenma asked, his mouth stuffed.

“Nothing, shut up and finish your cake already!”

“It’s a quiche!”

“Whatever!”

🌠 🌠 🌠

“Thanks for driving me home, Ten-chan!” Taichi said as he opened the door to his apartment.

“No big deal.”

“Wanna come in?”

“No, we should head home and---“

“Oh no!!” he yelled. Yuki and Tenma rushed inside and found him on his knees. “My…”

“What happened!?” Tenma asked.

“My…”

“Your…”

“…the telescope…” Yuki whispered, having seen the cause of Taichi’s scream. Tenma followed Yuki’s gaze and saw something lying on the floor of the balcony. The wind must’ve knocked over Taichi’s telescope.

He crawled closer and grabbed it, expecting the worst. But he let out a sigh of relief.

“…it’s just the lens. It broke, but I think I can replace it. Hopefully.”

“Phew.” Tenma was relieved as well. “I’ve had enough excitement for one day. I wanna go home and cuddle with Prince Percival.”

“Taichi.” Yuki said.

“Yes?”

“Kamikizaka will hold a competition during his fashion show as well. He promised prize money to the audience’s favourite of the night. Let’s win it and buy you a new telescope.”

“E-eh!?”

“One of those really good and expensive ones.”

“B-but what about you!?”

“I don’t care, you deserve it.”

“But---“

“No buts!” he flicked his forehead.

“Eek!”

“Deal?”

“…deal.”

“Good.” Yuki smiled. “Alright, let’s go, Tenma.”

“See ya Taichi.” Tenma said and waved his arm as he left the apartment.

“Good night, Taichi.” Yuki smiled.

“Night!” he smiled back. “And thank you! For everything!” he said and Yuki waved goodbye as he closed the door.

“Oh boy, what a day.” Taichi sighed deeply. “…but because I slept earlier I’m not tired yet.” he talked to himself and decided to securely put away his telescope for now. After that, he sat down on his couch and turned on the TV. He ate some quiche before leaving Omi’s apartment so he wasn’t hungry either. “Guess I’ll watch something until I’m sleepy. Good luck at work tomorrow, future me.”

As he was looking for something to watch, his phone rang and he checked the screen. It was Omi calling.

“H-hello?” he answered.

“Sorry for calling you this late, but I wanted to ask if you arrived home safely.”

“Yes, I’m on my couch right now. Thanks for calling.”

“No problem.”

“And thank you again for everything today. I’m sorry you had to see me like that, haha.”

“It’s okay, Taichi. I’m happy that you told me, even though it was such a personal and impactful incident. If you ever need someone to talk, I’ll listen again.”

“…”

“Taichi?”

“…th-thanks, Omi-kun.”

“You’re welcome.” he said. Taichi heard a chuckle. “Alright, then I’ll let you rest.”

“Let’s see when I fall asleep.” he sighed.

“Haha, that might be an issue, yes.”

“I’ll manage.”

“Okay, then… I’ll see you next week for the tattoo?”

“…” among everything that had happened recently he had almost forgotten about his tattoo. “...yes. Until then.”

“Alright. Good night, Taichi.”

“Night, Omi-kun!” he said and ended the call. “Hah…” he put his phone away and looked out of the window. “I wanted to talk to him a bit longer…”

🌠 🌠 🌠

Taichi was once again standing in front of the now quite familiar I Ink, Therefore I Am tattoo studio. He stared at the façade for a while for absolutely no reason at all before eventually entering the building.

“Oh! Taicchan’s here!” Kazunari greeted him.

“H-hello…”

“Ready?”

“Kinda?”

“Nice.” he laughed. “You can go to the back by yourself, Omimi should be there already!”

“Alright, thank you.”

“Have fun!” he winked and returned to whatever he was doing before. Taichi swallowed and continued. In the hair salon part of the shop Azami was doing Azuma’s hair. They greeted him but quickly returned to their discussion about which shampoo was of higher quality. Taichi decided to leave them alone, got the tattoo shop part and was greeted by Omi.

“Oh, Taichi. Welcome.” he was sitting behind the counter.

“Omi-kun!” he approached him. “Is Tasuku-san not here today? It’s usually him on the counter.”

“Yes, he’s off today. Said he’d use the opportunity to finally play soccer again.”

“Oh he plays soccer? We should all play together someday!” he smiled.

“I’ll let him know.” Omi chuckled. “Well then, are you ready?”

“…”

“Haha, no worries. It’ll be over faster than you think.”

“O-okay.”

“Follow me.” he said and led him to a tattoo chair. He asked him to sit down on it and position his right arm on the armrest. Omi put on some gloves and a face mask. He rolled an adjustable stool next to the chair and sat down on it. “Alright.”

“…can I look away?” Taichi asked.

“You don’t wanna see how it’s done?”

“Not necessarily.” Taichi laughed nervously. “A-and that way it’ll be more of a surprise too.”

“But you already know the design.”

“…”

“Ahaha, alright alright. You can look away.” Omi laughed. Taichi wanted to retort somehow but he knew he wasn’t making any sense. He just turned his head away and breathed in deeply. “Should I count down from three?”

“…but you’re not gonna do the thing where you start at two, right? They did that when I got my ears pierced. Told me that way it would be less of a scare, but I shrieked up anyways…”

“I wouldn’t do that.” Omi reassured him. “When did you get your ears pierced?”

“Hmm… When I started high school, I think?” Taichi said. “That was also when I started dying my hair red and it kinda became my thing then.”

“Ohh, interesting. Did Yuki make you do it?”

“Haha, nope. At first he was super surprised when I arrived with red hair one day!”

“Did he not like it?”

“He said it’d fit me.”

“Well I think so too.”

“Th-thanks…” he said started looking around the room with his eyes. “Say, Omi-kun?”

“Hmm?”

“When will you start?”

“I already did.”

“Ehh!?” Taichi exclaimed in surprise, turned his head around and saw Omi drawing on his inner wrist. The star half of the motive had already been done. “Wha---“

“I started when you turned around, actually. And look, I’m actually almost done with the first layer. We should probably do another one, just to be sure.”

“…I…”

“To be honest…” Omi continued. “I thought you were just holding it in, trying not to show it, but it seems you really didn’t notice anything, huh?”

“I… I did feel something, but it was so tiny I thought you had just tipped the needle on me or something.”

“And the noise?”

“I thought the machine just did that by default!”

“Ahaha!”

“Don’t laugh! It’s your fault for calming me down with your voice!”

“I’m glad I can do that then.”

“…” his face turned red and he turned away again.

“Looking away again?”

“…hmph.” Taichi pouted and made Omi laugh.

After about 15 more minutes, Omi put away the needle and took off the face mask.

“Done.” he said and smiled. Taichi turned around and stared at his wrist, which now featured a small star with a tail; his very own shooting star.

“Whoa.” he managed to say. “I love it!”

“I’m glad!” he grinned. “Alright, I’ll put a protective band aid on it and then you’re ready to go.”

“Th-thanks! That was really quick!”

“You’re welcome. Let’s do a bigger one next time, okay?”

“N-next time!?”

🌠 🌠 🌠

“Yuki-chan, I was thinking about getting a second tattoo…”

“Huh!?!”

“Eeek!!” Taichi screeched in fear.

“Hold still!” Yuki said and fiddled about with the suit Taichi was wearing. “Why do you always have to say stuff like that when you’re about to walk?!”

“…I’m sorry…” Taichi looked down.

“My, please hold your head straight.” Azuma, standing behind of him, said. He was fixing Taichi’s hair and arranging it.

“S-Sorry Azuma-san!”

“Fufu, it’s okay. Getting to work behind the scenes at a fashion show is quite exciting.” he chuckled. “And I get to see all these pretty people and clothes. Thank you for inviting me, Yuki.”

“Thank you for helping me out, Azu-nee!” Yuki smiled. “Alright, done.” he stepped back a bit and looked at Taichi from head to toe. “Perfect.”

“I really love this outfit, Yuki-chan! Even though it’s a suit, the sparkling beads make it look like a night sky!”

“Of course, I designed it with your new tattoo in mind.”

“…Yuki-chan…”

“Taichi.”

“Yes?”

“Go out there and show them all who’s the real star!”

🌠 🌠 🌠

“Omi-kuuun, I’m hungryyy!” Taichi whined, sitting on a camp chair in front of the fire. Omi was cooking their dinner and laughed.

“It’ll be done soon.”

“I knew we should’ve come sooner. I don’t wanna miss it because of this.”

“But you wanted to have freshly made camping food.”

“…you know I like your cooking…” he pouted.

“Haha, sorry.” he taste tested the curry roux. “Could use some more spices.”

“Ah, unfair! I wanna taste tes---“ he was interrupted by a kiss.

“How is it?”

“…good.” he glared at him. Omi had gotten a lot bolder ever since they started dating.

“Alright, I think it’s done.”

“Finally!” Taichi seemed excited. Omi filled two bowls and the two started eating. They had gone camping because Taichi wanted to go observe a comet that was supposedly going to be visible that night. He had been looking forward to it for weeks.

After they were done eating and everything was put away, the two sat on their chairs next to each other. Since they had gone up a small mountain it was quite cold during the night, so a big blanket was covering the two.

“So how much longer?” Omi asked.

“Uhm…” Taichi looked for his phone. “Two more hours!”

“…”

“Omi-kun?”

“…I’ll take a nap.”

“Eh!?” he exclaimed and Omi put his head on Taichi’s shoulder. “…sorry, you had a long day.

“It’s okay, I’m happy that you’re so excited for this.”

“…thanks…”

“You’re…” he yawned. “…welcome…” and fell asleep.

“Omi-kun!!” Taichi yelled and woke him up about two hours later.

“What happened!?” he jumped up and noticed that Taichi was standing as well.

“It’s there!” Taichi smiled and pointed his right arm skywards.

“Ohh!”

“The shooting star!”

🌠

**Author's Note:**

> This fic turned out a lot longer than I had intended at first but oh well! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I liked writing it! Feel free to lemme know what you thought in a comment!
> 
> Also, this fic inspired a whole universe in which more fics with my other A3! pairings will come, so please look forward to that too! (Hashtag spoiler for next fic in this AU: I sure wonder who that mysterious toy shop owner is.)


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